Vic dad jailed for stabbing mate in chest

A man who stabbed a friend in the chest during an argument in Melbourne is lucky it didn't end in tragedy, a judge says.

The victim survived the 2014 stabbing and on Friday his attacker, Andrew Francis Strange, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and given a two-year community corrections order by the Victorian Supreme Court.

Strange, 33, was originally charged with attempted murder after the fight left the other man with a collapsed lung but he pleaded guilty to recklessly causing injury in November.

The pair had been friends until a falling out in 2014 because Strange felt the other man was interfering with his family.

The friend had helped Strange's partner after the couple's five-year relationship broke down, the court heard.

Strange blamed him for encouraging his partner to report him to police for violence and apply for an intervention order.

In July 2014 Strange's friend and his wife let her and the children stay in their home following another fight.

After attending a court hearing over that breach, Strange drove from the Sunshine courthouse to the friend's home in a rage.

His two young boys were in the car with him.

"You were angry and also under the influence of methamphetamine," Justice Jane Dixon said.

Strange and the friend began arguing, with the fight quickly turning violent.

Strange stabbed the friend in the chest with a knife from the kitchen.

"The actions you took were out of all proportion to the circumstances and could have easily ended in tragedy," Ms Dixon said.

"The injuries you inflicted were potentially life-threatening."

The justice hopes her combined sentence will assist Strange in accessing the professional help he needs in prison and in the community.

It would also give him a chance to get his life in order, she said.

"I hope you don't disappoint," she said.